Stephens Inc. AR Purchases 55 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,859 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HLT. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $765,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,246,000. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth approximately $593,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on HLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Melius downgraded shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE:HLT opened at $273.47 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.83 and a fifty-two week high of $274.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.86. The company has a market capitalization of $66.67 billion, a PE ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 57.01% and a net margin of 13.74%. Research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

About Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, a hospitality company, engages in managing, franchising, owning, and leasing hotels and resorts. It operates through two segments, Management and Franchise, and Ownership. The company engages in the hotel management and licensing of its brands. It operates luxury hotels under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand; lifestyle hotels under the Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, and Motto by Hilton brand; full service hotels under the Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton brand; service hotels under the Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, and Tru by Hilton brand; all-suite hotels under the Embassy Suites by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton brand; and economy hotel under the Spark by Hilton brand, as well as Hilton Grand Vacations.